Publication Catalog

Featured Publications

Academic Leadership in Nursing: Making the Journey ($10)
This 256 page monograph provides support for the journey to the deanship/directorship through the writings of those who have faced the decisions and lived the experience. The four sections—Getting There, Getting Started, Staying There, and Moving On—are organized into the natural stages in the career of one assuming the top academic leadership position in nursing.

The Voice of Professional Nursing Education: A 40-Year History of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing ($20)
AACN has achieved many milestones and achievements in its relatively short history. This book details those eventsand chronicles AACN's rise from a "small band of passionate deans" to the national voice for baccalaureate and graduate nursing education.

Lifelong Learning in Medicine and NursingThis report describes a preferred future for health professionals’ continuing education and lifelong learning, which can best be attained through full implementation of the recommendations distilled here.Funded by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, this practical guide was developed through a partnership between AACN and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The Essentials

The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (2008)
($12 members/$15 nonmembers; bulk rates available)
The latest iteration of the Baccalaureate Essentials delineatesoutcomes competency standards for graduates of all types of pre-licensure and degree-completion programs offered at the baccalaureate level or as graduate entry. These Essentials meet the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for the core knowledge needed for all healthcare professionals. Due to the ever-changing and complex healthcare environment, this document emphasizes such concepts as patient-centered care, interprofessional teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, patient safety, informatics, clinical reasoning/critical thinking, genetics and genomics, cultural sensitivity, professionalism, lifespan, and end-of-life care.

Faculty Tool Kit for the Baccalaureate Essentials(2009) ($5)
The tool kit provides integrative learning strategies, opportunities for program enhancement, and resources that will assist faculty with the integration of the Baccalaureate Essentials throughout the nursing curriculum. This resource includes a review of the nine Baccalaureate Essentials, along with supporting Web links, AACN presentations, and references.

The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (2011)These revised Master’s Essentials, an update to an earlier version from 1996, reflect current and future nursing practice at the master’s level, which demands expert application of evidence-based practices, quality improvement methods, outcomes measurement, systems knowledge, and leadership skills. Nurses who obtain the competencies outlined in these Master’s Essentials will possess the advanced knowledge in the discipline and leadership skills needed to improve health outcomes in a number of current and emerging roles.

The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice(2006)
These Essentials define the curricular elements that must be present in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs. Required by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for schools seeking accreditation for DNP programs, these Essentials outline the foundational competencies that are core to all advanced nursing practice roles, including the four nationally-recognized Advanced Practice Registered Nursing roles: nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives.

The Essential Clinical Resources for Nursing's Academic Mission (1999)
AACN's landmark publication defines the essential elements of clinical support for the full spectrum of academic nursing- undergraduate and graduate education, faculty practice, and research. The document identifies the facilitators and barriers to clinical access in nursing education, describes essential clinical-site learning experiences both for undergraduate and graduate nursing students, and outlines the clinical resources necessary for faculty practice and research to develop and flourish.

Geriatric Nursing

Recommended Baccalaureate Competencies and Curricular Guidelines for the Nursing Care of Older AdultsDefines clinical competencies necessary for baccalaureate nursing graduates to provide high-quality care to older adults and their families. Produced jointly by AACN and The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, the publication also suggests content and teaching strategies in 14 core competency areas identified in AACN's Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice, and recommends steps for incorporating these concepts throughout the nursing curriculum.

Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies for Older Adult Care Designed to help nurse educators integrate geriatric nursing content into the graduate curriculum for Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists who provide care to older adults but are not specialists in gerontology. This document is a complement to the Older Adults competencies (see above) and is produced jointly by AACN and The John A. Hartford Foundation.

Data Reports

Every year, AACN's Institutional Data Systems and Research Center (IDS) -- AACN's authoritative national databank -- reports the most current statistics on student enrollment, graduations, and faculty salaries in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs: